Mr. Moms

A lot of men have come in for heavy criticisms from women, especially for the simple fact that they have not stepped up to the plate to be either a father or a ‘good’ father. But we have to agree that there are good men, and good fathers—the ones we see as roses among the thorns. They are the wonderful, caring fathers who have stuck by their kids, through thick and thin.

It is usually impressive when you one meets or hears of men who are raising their kids on their own. Not that that’s an ideal situation, but in these instances, these fathers may have been given custody of their children by the courts, or may have chosen to raise their children because the mothers are simply not interested, or have ran off elsewhere. Surely, for example, where the mother is rendered mentally incompetent, unfit to raise the child or children, or is deceased, we can understand why a man will be raising his kids single-handedly.

More so, it is an eye-opener in cases where courts grant full or primary custody to the father and not the mother. The courts generally use the welfare of the child principles and guidelines to decide which parent gets custody. From the court cases, you will notice that mothers tend to be favored more over fathers, especially when young children or girls are involved. But men do get primary custody of their child or children, and this goes to show that they are, at least in the eyes of the court, good men and capable fathers.

I know several “Mr. Moms”. These are men I am proud of. One of them, Edward, is his forties, and is raising his four children, a mixture of boys and girls, and had been raising them alone for the past 10 years! His youngest child was just a baby—six months old, to be exact, when he was granted full, primary custody of all his kids. He and his family do pretty much everything together. Eat, pray, vacation…you name it. And from the little interactions I’ve had with the kids, I realized they are well raised, and are great company to their father.

Another one of my Mr. Moms has also been raising his little girl since she was in newborn diapers. The mother wanted no part of raising the child after her birth, so he stepped up to the plate and took on all the responsibilities. Looking at little Sarah, you couldn’t tell she’s being raised by only one parent (and a father at that).

All of this reminds me of my own father. He’s a man who was not afraid of the responsibilities that came with having children. Even though my siblings and I are now adults, dad continues to be there for all of us.

While Mr. Moms make the world a better place because of their dedication and commitment to sticking by their kids, they are not to be seen as redemption tools for those who have fallen short of the mark. Every man must make a significant mark in the life of his child. But a lot of fathers have walked away from their children and have no clue as to how these kids are being raised. We have too much female-headed single-parent families. We need our men back in the lives of their kids and family members as a whole. While those men remain conspicuously absent from their children’s lives, we should tip our hats to all the Mr. Moms. They’re, most definitely, a constant reminder that there are some wonderful, caring men who are not afraid to take on their responsibilities as fathers, dads, and mentors to their children.

Copyright: All rights reserved 2011.